Today, on the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, silver medalists of the 2018 Games, figure skaters Natalia Zabiyako, Alexander Enbert and Vladimir Morozov came to visit students of the Kurchatov School in the North-West of Moscow. They took part in the Olympic Lesson, which was organized by the Russian Olympic Committee within the All-Russian sports and educational program Olympic Patrol.
Before the event, the press Secretary of the ROC Konstantin Vybornov presented the Olympic Textbook to Matvei Govorushchenko, Director of the Kurchatov School. All students of this educational institution will be provided with the Olympian’s manual.
Olympic lesson lasted longer than the standard, almost an hour and a half. Students listened with great interest to Konstantin Vybornov, who told them about the history of the modern Olympic Games and the main Olympic values, such as the pursuit of excellence, respect for the opponent, judges, fans and spectators, friendship between athletes.
Figure skaters, in turn, shared their own experience, telling, in particular, about their impressions of communication with other athletes during the Games in Pyeongchang and the general atmosphere of the competitions in which our team, as we know, acted under a neutral flag.
The videos of performances of Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov and Natalia Zabiyako/Alexander Enbert helped all those present refresh the Olympic memories. They were broadcasted on the big screen behind the athletes’ backs. Each video was greeted with a storm of applause.
Then came a series of questions and answers. Students were interested in how the stars came into Figure Skating, what profession they would choose if there was an opportunity to start life anew, what they would like to do when their sports career ends, how often they have to go through doping control procedures, etc.
The authors of the four most interesting questions , according to skaters, received as a gift t-shirts with the logo of the “Olympic patrol”, and to be photographed with the winners of the Olympic games and take their autographed card could absolutely everyone.
The Olympic lesson ended with a thematic flash mob called White Сard in support of the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace. Adults and children took part in the photo session, holding a sheet of white paper, symbolizing honesty and constructive approach in sports.
Alexander Enbert: “This is my first experience with children. Before coming here I was a little worried, but everything went just fine. I want to thank the ROC for the invitation to the Olympic Patrol! The project was very interesting and important. Particularly I want to say that I was pleasantly surprised by the students’ awareness in such serious issues as, for example, the dependence of sport on politics in the modern world.”
Natalia Zabiyako: “Such meetings are very useful. For children, this is a great opportunity to talk with famous athletes, learn about the history of the Olympic movement, get answers to their questions, as they say, firsthand. When I myself was a schoolgirl, Eugeniy Plushenko came to Tallinn to participate in the ice show, and I managed to talk to him a little. This event made a lasting impression on me. I will be glad if our today’s meeting will also be remembered by boys and girls for a long time.”
Vladimir Morozov: “It’s nice when young people understand sports and watch the Olympic Games. Today we performed in front of such audience. It is very important that this project introduces students to the history of the Olympic Games and the main Olympic values. Without the past there can be no future. For our part, we are always ready to participate in such programmes. It is the duty of every Olympian to share experience and knowledge with the younger generation.”
Olympic Patrol is the all-Russian sports and educational program of the ROC. Its purpose is to tell children and teenagers about the Olympic movement, to acquaint them with the Russian Olympians, to remind of the advantages of sports training and importance of a healthy lifestyle.
The program was launched in July, 2014 in the largest children’s centers and recreation camps, including Orlenok and Smena in the Krasnodar region, Artek in Crimea, as well as the all-Russian sports and recreation center for children, working on the basis of the Olympic Park in Sochi.
More than 40 famous sportsmen took part in the work of the Olympic Patrol, Olympic Champions, European and World Champions, among them:
- Anastasia Davydova, five-time Olympic champion in Synchronized Swimming;
- Alexei Nemov, four-time Olympic champion on Gymnastics;
- Nikolay Zimyatov, four-time Olympic champion in Cross-Country Skiing;
- Vladislav Tretiak, three-time Olympic champion in Ice Hockey;
- Irina Rodnina, three-time Olympic champion in Figure Skating;
- Alexander Karelin, the triple Olympic champion in Greco-Roman wrestling;
- Maria Kiseleva, three-time Olympic champion in synchronized swimming;
- Elena Zamolodchikova, two-time Olympic champion in Gymnastics;
- Nikolay Valuev, world champion in Boxing of the world Boxing Association;
- Anatoly Karpov, 12th World Chess Champion;
- Marat Safin, Honored master of sports in tennis, ex-first racket of the world.
